[OutOfHere]

Sennheiser has a bit less pressure than the other brands like Bose, but of course it does still has some.

When listening to music, I keep the volume as low as feasible, and I disable ANC. When listening to podcasts, I enable ANC.

In general, in music apps, the volume is already too boosted, and so even the minimum volume is too high and damaging. This is not an issue in podcast apps like AntennaPod.

There actually is evidence that ANC music makes it hard for people to understand what others are saying in the real world. If this effect starts to happen, reverse course immediately before it becomes permanent.